You have to wonder if New York State Sen. Ruben Diaz if even remotely cognizant, because the fictional storyline he’s pushing above, about how it’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg who kept gay marriage from New York, is rooted in one giant piece of misinformation: It’s Diaz who’s to blame.
Bloomberg, who’s after a controversial third straight mayoral term, is only playing nice with LGBTs now because he needs their vote, Diaz claims. Which is, to an extent, true — but anyone running for NYC mayor wants the gay vote. But as we’ve previously reported:
From City Hall, Bloomberg has been demanding marriage equality, he’s supported counting same-sex couples in the U.S. census, and he’s used whatever political clout he has to lobby Albany to meet Gov. David Paterson’s demand for same-sex marriage in New York. He also reluctantly backed a legal challenge to same-sex marriages with a severe “but”: If courts ruled against it, he would lobby state legislators to change the law. Which he’s doing.
But what makes Diaz’s statement about Bloomberg — and his attempt to get the city’s queers to start criticizing Bloomberg — all the more incredulous is the part where the senator forgets to mention how he’s spent his political tenure ensuring New York’s gays don’t get marriage. He’s used the issue as a power bargaining chip, has rallied religious communities to back his anti-marriage stance, and turned the race to secure 32 Senate votes to pass marriage legislation into a witch hunt. It’s why marriage equality supporters were strategizing how to get around Diaz in the first place.
“I think that the gay community should be angry at Mayor Bloomberg and don’t support him,” says Ruben. “Because, if they are not getting married it is not because of Sen. Ruben Diaz, it is because Michael Bloomberg stopped you from getting married. Don’t get angry at me. Get angry at Mayor Bloomberg.”
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And we thought Diaz was proud of advocating discrimination?
This man is a crazy person. All the more so because it’s Bloomberg, not Diaz, who just gave an update on the state of gay marriage in New York: No chance of it happening right now, but he’s working with Republican senators to make things happen. (It helps that with his vast hoards of cash, Bloomberg wields enormous campaign influence.)
Brian
New York State Sen. Ruben Diaz is a Pentecostal Minister.
Crazy? Yes. Religious? Very.
reluctantcommenter
what’s more strange is why NY1 would even ask diaz for his two cents on an issue like gay rights when he clearly doesn’t think we should have any.
AlwaysGay
New York needs YOUR HELP. Call, email and fax New York State Senators NOW and encourage them to push for marriage equality now and to vote YES on marriage equality. Here are senators you need to contact.
James Alesi – [email protected], Joseph Addabbo, Jr. – [email protected], Brian X. Foley – [email protected], John J. Flanagan – [email protected], Charles Fuschillo – [email protected], Ruth Hassell-Thompson – [email protected], Carl Kruger – [email protected], Kenneth LaValle – [email protected], Vincent Leibell – [email protected], Hiram Monserrate – [email protected], Owen H. Johnson – [email protected], John Sampson – [email protected]
Terence Weldon
It may be too late for NY marriage equality this year, but it is not yet too late to give the bigot the boot. The voters in Diaz’ district should be preparing a primary challenge, to ensure we don’t have to deal with his BS after 2010.
Robert, NYC
Don’t forget, Bloomberg is the primary funder of the NYS republican party. There will be some arm twisting to get a handful of republicans on board, but if anyone can do it, its Bloomberg. Already, Dean Skelos the GOP minority leader has said, that although he doesn’t back marriage equality, he’s not going to have a problem with those members who do. Money talks!
Robert, NYC
By the way guys and girls…..beware of an anti same-sex marriage hater who posts on this site by the user name of Michael Letterman claiming that same-sex marriage demeans marriage but can’t name one example because he has no intellectual argument against it to validate his claim. He comes here all the time to agitate and demean our lives. I can’t understand why Queerty allows scum like that to come here and vent their venom. He claims he’s straight, jewish but not religious, married to a “christian” woman who converted to judaism. He claims he’s not homophobic because he has a lot of gay friends and neighbors, duh…a lame excuse if ever there were. He claims he’s not homophobic yet considers our sex lives a perversion and that we should live “normal” lives. Just be on your guard when he posts here. If anyone uses vulgarity against him as I have done, he then hurls “fag” at you. He’s one sick psycho talker obsessed with gay sex, knows all the terminology such as barebacking, cum covered cocks….his choice of words, not mine. I think we can see through all of the transparency though. Quite revealing when he resorts to words like that.
Larry
I love how he accuses Bloomberg of “pure hypocrisy.” Ruben has two gay brothers and says that means he can’t be homophobic, but opposes gay rights at every opportunity. But that’s not hypocrisy, nooooo…
juoking81
http://www.newsweek.com
The Artist
It is very simple with these idiots in the state senate VOTE and VOTE THEM OUT! Who cares is they are Democrate or Republican…if they have there own agenda’s like Diaz, just get rid of them!